Frolicked

Another wonderful Frolic in the books!!

I scored my Folic colour way from Indigo Dragonfly  I have bought the special edition colourway in each base every year, so I’m quite committed. This year Kim added minis, and I was quite taken with them! 

Helen and I have been coveting the Burberry inspired colourway from Turtle Purl  and Purple Purl was carrying it, so into the bag it went!!

I spent my day at The Needle Emporium booth, doing what I do - enabling 🙂

I picked out a fade at the end of the day (with Julie’s help of course) for Fading Point  but I left with just the picture b/c I’m kind of maxed on knitting and while I love it, it just didn’t say “take me home today”. 

Normally I put together a fade or two and am giddy with excitement, so I went with my instinct. I also had a couple colourways picked out for a non troppo scarf, but left with those in memory as well. I know where to go when the time is right 😏💖

Something New

Making excellent progress on Nicole’s sock; I’m ready to start the heel flap! 

I went and got a nice close cut!

I’m enjoying rocking the short hair and the ease of styling. I’ve promised Amanda that I’ll start growing it out again once the blonde has grown out and been cut off. 

So my stomach has been giving me gyp for a few days, and my lower back has been relentlessly nagging at me. Wednesday after lunch with Joan, I thought that maybe something had been off. It was a bit of a rough drive home, and I had a soda water while watching Survivor hoping it would settle; not so much. I normally take a hot water bottle to bed with for my feet; Wednesday night it was for my poorly tummy. 

I woke up Thursday and things seemed to have settled. When I’m at home, I try to keep a 16 hour fasting period, so I usually drink water until noon or so. The pain came back, but not as bad as the previous day, so I thought I was getting over whatever it was. Then I had lunch. Not super. So I took to Google. The pain was dull, kind of like a heated rock gnawing in my gut. Result - probably an ulcer. I wasted no time booking an appt with my Dr. 

Sure enough, an ulcer is confirmed. I’m pretty sure it’s from long-term ibuprofen use, aggravated by some recent stressors. So I’m off that for 6 weeks while I take the ulcer Rx. I’ll have to take Tylenol for pain and try to not inflame anything worse than it is at the mo. The pain should begin to subside in a few days, but knowing that I don’t have stomach cancer (yes, I go there right away), and I’m not making it worse, I’ll be back to work tomorrow. 

In hindsight, the diagnosis explains the most unladylike quantity of burps I’ve been experiencing. Every time I swallow water, burping. Eating - burping. I also think the stomach pains started earlier, but I tend to not pay too much attention until a discomfort becomes actual pain. 

Petey has been a most excellent companion, steadfast and watchful, never more than an arms reach away, guarding me jealously. 

Chica came to sit with us one point, but kept her bone in her mouth, lest Petey or I decided that we wanted it. It’s gotta suck being at the bottom of the pack. But she’s a fighter and guarded that bone well. 

I tried a single-serving keto brownie tonight. Wow!!! I have fairly low expectations of sugar-free/low carb/keto desserts, and I really haven’t been craving any since I started this way of eating, but I had a hankering tonight. 

This recipe was seriously delicious, topped with a dollop of whipped cream, and will be my go-to dessert. As I’m generally not a fan of cooking in a microwave, I baked mine in the oven. 

We’re getting down to the wire and I’m going to have to stop putting off blocking my Veronika Cardi. Don’t worry - it’ll be ready for the Frolic!! 

Done, done, started

I met my deadline; taking a vacation week was certainly key! 

Before I started on the next Top Secret Project, I took the opportunity to finish a pair of socks for me! 

Because socks for me kinda take the back burner, I don’t have as many new ones coming into the rotation, and since I wear them every day, it’s taking a toll. I have a number of pairs getting holes in the repairs. I think that I may have a go at cutting them off at the ankles and knitting just new feet. 

But before I embark on that, or my next assignment, I have started a pair for a colleague. We have a great management team and I have agreed to knit socks for my friends. They understand that this may take awhile 😏  Except for knitting socks for the Elise’s Knit One Below book, and my children, I don’t knit socks for other people, so this is a significant demonstration of my regard for these women. They make my job easier and more enjoyable. 

I am knitting this pair for Nicole. Her pair will be slightly bigger than mine, so to head off the dreaded Yarn Shortage Anxiety, I am knitting contrasting ribs, heels, and toes. It’s not as black as the pic looks - it’s a lovely dark, heathery blue. My fave reinforcing yarn is Kidsilk Haze. 

A labour of love balances everything. 

Care Package

My bestie Helen moved Out West when her husband was posted. He’s naval and he’s near water now - seems appropriate. 

We text and FaceTime, busy things just aren’t the same. We have the super awesome military friends of friends who know other friends at all the bases, and have made that work. And there’s Canada Post too, which brought me today’s post. (Ha!! Pun not intended) 

Helen has crocheted her big heart out, and white the help of her hubby, beaded some of the coasters into bug-guards for summer beverages!! 
Then there are our twining headphones.  WOW!!  I’m in aural love!! They are so light for full over-ear headphones, and the Bluetooth sound quality is rather impressive. The noise cancellation is equally impressive - I can’t even hear myself singing along at full enthusiasm!! I may never listen to the real world again. 🎧🎼🎶🎵🎧 😂😂 ❤️❤️

And the coffee is from JF who stopped in Hawaii and Helen was gracious enough to share :) I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about pineapple coffee, but I’m a fan of it on pizza, so who am I to pre-judge. I wonder how it’ll do in my Bulletproof coffee? I’ll let you know tomorrow!!

Oh - that new keto bread? That’s gonna need some tweaking. My other recipe had no sweetener, but this one needs something. I’ll Google research it and see what I come up with. 

Almost Over

It’s been a great 8 days off work. Took me a few to mostly let go and be on my staycation, but it has mostly been quite relaxing, and most importantly, productive. Tomorrow is my last day off and I’ve got my errands packed in so that I can start some momentum going into Wednesday.

I am going to physio to work on getting my knee sorted out and in better shape for the upcoming baseball season. Then it’s getting my nails done - one of my vanities; I really do love having my fingernails beautiful. I am getting my hair cut and then some groceries done. I should be back home in time to get a fair amount of knitting done still. It’s not a great day if I don’t get enough knitting in!

Petey maintains his vigil. This dog is just so darn photogenic, or maybe I just love him. Either way 😏

I am trying a new keto bread recipe. This one makes a single-sized serving and isn’t cheese based. It’s in the oven now; I’ll let you know tomorrow how it turns out. If it works,  I’ll share the recipe. 

Craig bought himself a set of VR glasses for his phone. He’s gone and switched to an android ... to each their own. Every relationship has its hurdles, we’ll work to overcome this one. He loves them and it allows me to feel less guilty about binge watching shows that he doesn’t enjoy as much as I do. The way he looks around when he’s wearing them reminds me of Abraham “Abe” Sapien from Hellboy. 

And ummmm, no, I didn’t get the Veronika Cardi blocked out today. Knitting, nap, knitting ... I did get the house Hoovered though, so there’s that 😏☺️.